Chapter 8: VOLUME 12: CHAPTER 12
Author's notes: apologies for the delays in the uploads. Real life is a bit rough lately.
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[The Great Empire]
"If you show me strength that surpasses all logical reasons, I shall fully give my support to the Kingdom of Lukas in this war. My wealth, resources, military – I shall entrust all of them in your hands."
Following these words, Reginald proposed they go to the nearest forest to the capital to demonstrate the strength of the blackstone knights.
"The forest?" said Prince Rykard.
By cart, it would take at least four hours to reach the forest from the capital. It did not seem practical to go there just to demonstrate the strength of the Lord Knight.
Moreover, for an imperial prince, going there at this time of the night carried the risk of assassination. Even though he was last in line to the succession, there would still be people wishing to erase him from the competition.
"Yes, Your Highness," said Reginald Vont. "As an imperial prince, Your Highness has access to exclusive training grounds, but it wouldn't do. If you wish to see the full extent of the Lord Knight's strength, we needed to do it in a place devoid of people."
Prince Rykard understood the meaning behind those words.
Did the Lord Knight truly possess strength capable of destroying the training grounds if it went all out?
Rykard pondered if this was the correct decision to take. In the end, after careful deliberation, he decided to trust his intuition and judgment. He believed now was not the time to play it safe.
"Vaison, relay the message to General Sigismund. Tell him to bring all of the officers of our army."
"Understood, Your Highness."
Prince Rykard turned to Reginald. "General Sigismund has been serving me since I was a kid. A retired General who pledged his allegiance to me. Together with Vaison, he's my most trusted retainer. As long as you can convince him, you will be able to control all of the soldiers in my army."
"I see," said Reginald. "Then I shall do my best to convince him and the military officers."
Two hours later, Reginald, Prince Rykard, and the military officers of his army departed for the nearest forest to the capital. To properly demonstrate the strength of the blackstone army, Reginald brought the Lord Knight and a blackstone knight with him.
Soon, they arrived at the forest edge.
The soldiers lit torches, illuminating their immediate surroundings.
As it had rained just hours ago, coupled with the current time of the night, the forest edge was devoid of people.
Reginald and Prince Rykard disembarked from the carriage, their boots touching the muddy ground. Vaison and General Sigismund, a well-toned old man in his late sixties, followed behind the two.
General Sigismund used to be a powerful warrior back in his prime. But just like everyone else, he, too, was unable to fight father time.
Still, despite losing the majority of his physical strength, he'd retained his battle wits with him. Moreover, he had a keen eye for people, thus the reason he chose to serve the Fifth Prince.
"Do a quick search of the forest," said General Sigismund in a deep voice.
"Yes, General!"
Several soldiers entered the forest. After several minutes, they came back after confirming there were no people.
"The forest is clear, General!"
"Good work," said General Sigismund. "Ambassador, should we go deeper inside?"
"Hmmm…" Reginald looked around. "No, this place will do."
Prince Rykard said, "Then let's start the demonstration."
Following those words, Reginald ordered the blackstone knight to demonstrate its strength before everyone.
"We brought half a thousand blackstone knights with us, Your Highness," said Reginald. "They do not tire, they are absolutely loyal, and they are unwavering as they do not fear death. I will now demonstrate to you the extent of a blackstone knight's strength."
Reginald pointed his index finger to a nearby massive tree. "That tree, uproot it."
It was a preposterous order, as the tree was large enough that even two adult men wouldn't be enough to fully embrace its trunk.
Still, despite this, the blackstone knight immediately heeded Reginald's command.
The blackstone knight groaned, ran toward the tree, and embraced its trunk tightly.
The blackstone knight's sabaton dug deep into the ground, as its entire body moved to uproot the tree before it. Its armor started forming dents, but at the same time, the trunk of the tree started creaking, its bark forming cracks.
Although it was more of crushing than uprooting, the blackstone knight pulled off the order of its master in the end.
A loud crashing sound was heard in the forest as the tree trunk moved up, tilted to one side, and fell down the ground.
"The tree was uprooted…" murmured one of the soldiers.
The soldiers from the Fifth Prince's army stood there, dumbfounded at the absurd display of strength.
In their entire lives, it was the first time they'd seen someone uproot a tree from the ground.
Although it looked barbaric, it was undeniable that the strength displayed was in the realm of a superhuman.
The soldiers continued to murmur with each other.
"What… in the heavens is that?"
"There are half a thousand knights like him, and they're joining our ranks?"
Just that single display alone was enough to convince the majority of the soldiers, but Reginald knew it wouldn't be enough.
He needed to show them how absolutely crucial it was for the blackstone knights to join this war if they wished to win against the demons. And to do that, he needed to show them the full might of the Lord Knight.
"Lord Knight," said Reginald. "It's your turn."
The Lord Knight's eyes glimmered.
Slowly, it unsheathed the large claymore on its back. Mana gushed out of its body, and it all flowed toward its weapon.
Oppressive bloodlust oozed out of the Lord Knight, rendering the soldiers, General Sigismund included, temporarily immobile.
For a moment, the soldiers of the Fifth Prince feared for their lives.
They wondered how it was possible for a single person to have bloodlust this piercing and murderous.
They realized that if Reginald willed it, the Lord Knight could easily slaughter all of them here. Even with General Sigismund and Vaison accompanying them, they doubted they would be able to survive.
Thankfully, it was apparent that Reginald came here with the pure intention of demonstrating the might of his army.
"Your Highness, it might get dangerous," said Reginald. "Please step back."
It took several seconds before Prince Rykard could respond. He nervously gulped down. "Yes."
"Don't hold back," said Reginald to the Lord Knight. "Show us your entire might."
The Lord Knight roared. With both hands, it gripped its claymore tight, infused more mana into it, and made a wide horizontal slash.
All of the mana in the claymore moved towards the blade's edge, before shooting toward the forest. A sharp cutting sound was heard, followed by a deafening explosion and a body-numbing shockwave.
The ground rumbled as hundreds of trees started tilting and falling down at the same time.
"GRUUUAAHH!"
And as though that single strike wasn't enough, the Lord Knight raised its claymore and made a vertical slash.
The second strike carried the same strength as the previous one. The blade of mana split the ground in half, creating a hundred meters long ravine.
"GRUUAAAHH!"
The Lord Knight was about to do a third strike when Prince Rykard shouted, "Wait! That's enough!"
The prince looked utterly terrified and amazed at the same time.
"Are you sure this is enough, Your Highness? I still haven't demonstrated the regenerative capabilities of the Lord Knight yet."
Prince Rykard stared at the Lord Knight, who'd lowered its claymore, for several seconds. He said to Reginald, "Yes. I've seen enough."
Prince Rykard and his soldiers had heard that the Lord Knight was toyed with by the Sword Saint before. But seeing its strength in person, they all realized how far from reality the rumors were.
There was no way the Sword Saint toyed with that monster.
The strength it had displayed was no longer in the realm mere soldiers like them could dare gauge.
That was no knight, but a living, moving weapon of mass destruction.
It would be terrifying as an enemy, but there would be nothing more reliable than it as an ally.
"Then, we shall stop the demonstration here," said Reginald. "Lord Knight, get back here."
The Lord Knight sheathed its claymore and returned to its place next to Reginald.
"So, how is it, Your Highness?" said Reginald. "Did we satisfy your requirements?"
Prince Rykard looked at the destroyed forest edge.
His body was no longer shaking from fear, but excitement. Even the military officers and General Sigismund were looking at the ambassador with a different gaze from before.
Prince Rykard was glad that the First Prince's guards shunned the ambassador at the door.
"It's more than satisfactory, ambassador," said Prince Rykard happily. "I swear with my name as an imperial prince, I shall give you my full support."
***
[Demon Realm]
After the portal in the Iron Mountains suddenly closed, Chief Researcher Muuka immediately went back to the Demon Realm to investigate the cause.
Before leaving, he ordered the demon army to tread carefully, going as far as halting the advance of the demons in the Empire. This earned the Empire time to properly organize their armies and plan a counterattack.
"Oh, Absolute One!"
Muuka was prostrating before the Demon Lord's throne, his face planted firmly on the ground.
"Please give me a little bit more time! I promise I'll find what caused the portal to suddenly close!"
The closing of the portal was a scandal that brought shame to the Red Tower. As it was a responsibility entrusted entirely to Chief Researcher Muuka, everyone pointed the blame to him.
With that single mistake, the Red Tower started to lose its standing.
"I'm pretty sure the humans are behind this!" said Muuka. "If you'll allow me to restructure the portal and make another duplicate…"
The Demon Lord Barkuvara, who hardly spoke whenever they met, finally said, "And how long will that take?"
It was a single question, but Muuka found it hard to give an immediate answer. Even the voice of the Immortal Demon was filled with mana, and tremendous pressure swept through the entire throne room whenever he spoke.
It felt as though all of the mana in the Demon Realm coalesced, took shape, and started conversing with them.
"H-Half a year, Absolute One!" said Muuka. "Please give me at least half a year!"
For a moment, Muuka had the urge to say 'three months', but he did not have the heart to dare lie to the Demon Lord Barkuvara.
Duplicating the portal was no simple process, and even six months were stretching thin the deadline. If things did not go as planned, it might even take years before he could duplicate the portal again.
"Half a year…." said the Demon Lord Barkuvara. "Elrenar, what do you think? Your chief researcher says it will take that long to finish investigating what caused the portal to close in the human realm."
Elrenar, the Lord of the Red Tower, was also prostrating on the ground, right next to Muuka. He also didn't dare raise his head as a show of absolute obedience to the Demon Lord Barkuvara.
"Muuka is more knowledgeable about portals than me, Absolute One. If he deemed that it will take half a year, then it must be so."
For a full minute, silence fell.
The Demon Lord Barkuvara said, "How… uninteresting. Just right when I've finally regained my strength. Then, to hasten the process, should I investigate the cause myself?"
"B-But! I-Is there really a need for you to investigate personally, Absolute One?"
Elrenar was terrified at the thought of making the Demon Lord personally move to correct their mistake.
A month ago, the clone of the Demon Lord had returned after acquiring one of the soul fragments scattered all throughout the Demon Realm. After assimilating with the clone and the soul fragment, the Demon Lord Barkuvara regained nearly all of his original strength.
Even before regaining the soul fragment, in his incomplete state, the Demon Lord was already powerful enough to slaughter several High Demons on his own.
Elrenar could only imagine how much stronger he was now that he'd regained nearly all the strength he had back in his prime.
"I've been sealed inside the ice prison for over a millennium," said the Demon Lord Barkuvara. "How much the human realm has changed over the years – I want to see it."
The Demon Lord Barkuvara rose from his throne. "Elrenar, the portal. Lead me to it."
The Lord of the Red Tower didn't dare argue any further. He submissively said, "As you wish, Absolute One."
***
With Elrenar and Chief Researcher Muuka at the lead, the Demon Lord Barkuvara entered the Great Cavern where the portal was located.
Naturally, the tormentors and flesh eaters guarding the place were flustered as they'd never expected the Immortal Demon to suddenly visit the place.
"Make way!"
"Open the main entrance! Clear the path for the Absolute One!"
As their group made their way through the Great Cavern, the Demon Lord Barkuvara would suddenly stop to gaze at a particular place every now and then.
Elrenar knew the reason for this: the Immortal Demon had been sealed in this place for more than a thousand years, and it was only natural to feel nostalgic.
After walking through the now-widened tunnels of the Great Cavern, their group eventually arrived at the place where the portal was located.
Dozens of researchers from the Red Tower were continuously stabilizing the portal from this side, as they feared repeating the same mistake from before.
The stabilizers in this place had been tripled, and the tormentors made sure to feed it generous amounts of mana crystals on a regular basis.
The moment the Demon Lord Barkuvara arrived, everyone, regardless of rank and status, stopped what they were doing and prostrated on the ground.
"The portal is ready to be used at any time, Absolute One," said Elrenar. "Please allow us to accompany you as you cross to the other side."
The Demon Lord Barkuvara stared at the portal spanning a few hundred meters in size before him.
With just a single look, he realized how unstable it currently was. Without the Red Tower continuously feeding it with mana, it would have long closed by itself by now.
It was the consequence of forcefully and hastily relocating and duplicating the portal.
"Muuka, Elrenar," said the Demon Lord Barkuvara. "Observe carefully. This should be the flow of mana if you wish to stabilize the portal."
Massive amounts of mana gushed out of the Demon Lord's body. The mana circled around the portal's periphery, slowly going to the center, until it was absorbed entirely.
The Demon Lord repeated this process several times, and to everyone's astonishment, the erratic movements of the portal's mana stopped as it began to fully stabilize.
The amount of mana the Demon Lord poured into the portal to help stabilize it exceeded what the mana crystals could provide by several times.
"The… portal has become stable," murmured Chief Researcher Muuka in bewilderment.
He would have found it hard to believe had someone told him that a single demon was capable of stabilizing the portal on his own. But he witnessed it himself. So, this was the might of the Immortal Demon.
The Demon Lord Barkuvara said impassively, "The Chief Researcher alone shall accompany me inside."
Elrenar lowered his head. "As you command."
With Muuka accompanying him, the Demon Lord Barkuvara stepped into the portal. The mana twisted, and for a split second, they found themselves on the other side – the Human Realm.
They arrived at a previously lush plains that had been turned into a lifeless, arid land.
It was reeking with death and despair, as all life had been sucked from it by the Corrupted Tower.
Cattlewood Plains.
The place where Master Harris Mavis fought the demons until his last breath.
Finally, the Demon Lord Barkuvara had arrived at the Empire.
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